One of the problems faced by golfers is the difficulty of reproducing their optimum stance and club alignment for a given type of shot. In particular, a golfer, in addressing the ball, may hold the handle end of the club too high or too low off the ground or too far to the left or right. Both of these variations can cause the club face to strike the ball at an incorrect angle, resulting in a poor shot. Such variations tend to occur even when the golfer has through practice established an optimum position for the club handle in addressing the ball. The problem is not so much that the golfer is unable to establish the proper position, but that he may be unable to reproduce it consistently. A need thus exists for a device that would record the best position for holding the club handle and provide a reference for guiding the golfer back into that position for subsequent shots.
Various prior art patents are directed to devices for aligning golf clubs. One approach as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,268 employs a sighting device for mounting on a putter, the golfer obtaining a sight picture showing the presence or absence of proper alignment of the putter face with the ball. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,053,160 and 4,116,448 provide a mirror or reflecting element for observing alignment of the club head with respect to the ball and target. Devices which include a pointer to be aimed at the target are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,262,705; 3,298,693; and 4,306,721. A movable pointer and indicator slot for determining angular deviation after a shot is made are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,332. These patents are concerned with devices for aligning the club with respect to the ball and/or target, and they fail to disclose a sighting device concerned with recording an optimum position for the club handle when the golfer is addressing the ball and with enabling the golfer to reproduce that position for subsequent shots.